Yasmin Ponnappa is an Indian model from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. After appearing in print media and television commercials, Yasmin first worked as an actress in

Thiagarajan Kumararaja Thiagarajan Kumararaja is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut with the critically acclaimed neo-noir gangster film ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011), which earned him the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of ...

's gangster film ''

Aaranya Kaandam ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (; English title: ''Anima and Persona'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema. The story takes ...

'' (2011).

Career

Yasmin Ponnappa began her career as a model in

, before shifting to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

to seek better opportunities. She landed a contract with the Elite Model Management agency, and initially appeared in commercials for Nivea Deodorant and Tropicana juice. She later garnered attention for her work with Opulex diamond bracelets, under the direction of Vishesh Verma. During her time as a model, Yasmin was shortlisted by

Loveleen Tandan Loveleen Tandan is an Indian film director and casting director. She is the co-director (India) of ''Slumdog Millionaire'' along with Danny Boyle. She has also been the casting director for several other films, including '' Monsoon Wedding'' (200 ...

for the role of Latika in

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...

's English film ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...

'' (2008), as she was previously known to Tandan from another shelved film project. Yasmin took part in initial script reading sessions with Boyle, before she was replaced by

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

in the role. Yasmin later made her acting debut in

's Tamil gangster film ''

'' (2011), after being approached by the director who had spotted her face on a hoarding in Chennai. Once she was on board, Yasmin prepared for her role under the tutelage of

Guru Somasundaram Guru Somasundaram is an Indian actor who is Mainly working in Tamil and Malayalam movies. He made his debut in ''Aaranya Kaandam'' (2011) winning critical acclaim for his role, before also appearing in the Tamil action film ''Pandiya Naadu'' (2 ...

in a ten-day workshop. The film narrates the tale of a drug lord Singaperumal, played by

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), popularly known as Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model. He has been in the Bollywood industry for over four decades, and , has appeared in over 220 films in 13 languages namely Hi ...

, who is well past his prime and imprisons the young Subbu, played by Yasmin and abuses her at will, eager as he is to prove his potency. The film was honoured with two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

for Best Editing and Best Debut Film of a Director category respectively. Yasmin won rave reviews for her portrayal of Subbu, with Sify.com stating she "is fantastic in her debut role" and "she brings out the innocence and the cunning cruelty of the character very well". Likewise, Rediff.com noted "Yasmin Ponnappa makes you gnash her teeth as the dumb blonde but it's a measure of her success that you feel the exasperation". Later entertainment portals Fully Filmy and Behindwoods both listed Yasmin's role in the film as amongst the strongest female characters ever written in Tamil cinema. In August 2014, Yasmin shot for a music video titled "

The Madras Song "The Madras Song" produced by the Murugappa Group is a tribute to the city of Madras and was launched in commemoration of its 375th year which was celebrated in August 2014 . There was a sequel to this song by Opus G7 for The Hindu group call ...

", produced by the Murugappa Group as a tribute to the city of Madras, which was celebrating its 375th year. In 2017, Yasmin worked on a short film titled ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' directed by Dhilip Kumar and co-starring Kishore. Scripted by

Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...

, the short film featured her in dual roles of Kalki and Radhika and was released in May 2017.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnappa, Yasmin Indian film actresses Actresses in Tamil cinema Models from Bangalore Living people 21st-century Indian actresses Year of birth missing (living people)